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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25874245">Crash and Burn</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nanashiame/pseuds/Nanashiame'>Nanashiame</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rick and Morty</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bickering, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Sharing a Bed, Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:56:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,382</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25874245</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nanashiame/pseuds/Nanashiame</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When a deal goes wrong, Rick and Morty end up crashed on a foreign planet.  In the grand scheme of things, it could have been much worse, but tonight, Morty is exceptionally cranky about it...and Rick's cavalier attitude certainly isn't helping.  </p>
<p>It's going to take a while to repair the ship.  Maybe a day...maybe two.  In that amount of time, anything could happen...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rick Sanchez/Morty Smith</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>255</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Crash and Burn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The ship plummeted down.  Flames burst out around it and licked back into a scorching comet tail.  From a distance it was almost beautiful; A disc of metal glinting in the alien double sunset as a trail of billowing smoke corkscrewed out behind.  Inside the ship it was a different story.</p>
<p>Morty’s screams felt muffled in his own head.  Alarms were blaring; Rick was roaring out instructions and it all sounded so very, very far away.  How often did this shit happen? </p>
<p>Too often. </p>
<p>Mindlessly, Morty fulfilled Rick’s commands, flicking buttons, jerry-rigging wires, grabbing tight to the lever for the emergency thrustors, waiting….</p>
<p>“<em>NOW</em>, Morty!!” </p>
<p>Morty pulled back hard. The planet rushed up to meet them.  The world spun and went black.</p>
<p>Morty woke to a terrible pressure on his throat and the sensation of being dragged across hard metal.  He futilely gasped for air and flung his hands to his neck, rolling his eyes up in a desperate bid to see what had him.  It was Rick.  Of course it was.  Rick was coughing and cursing like a sailor, hauling Morty across the driver seat by the back of his shirt collar.  He jerked Morty clear of the ship and Morty’s tailbone hit the ground hard.  He cried out and twisted, but Rick pulled him a few more feet before unceremoniously dumping him in the dirt, returning to the burning ship, and frantically rummaging through the piles of shit he always kept in there, recklessly tossing things behind him in his haste.</p>
<p>Morty coughed and sat in the dirt, disoriented and in pain, blinking slowly as empty wine bottles, tools, and assorted garbage landed haphazardly around him.  Things were coming into focus.  The flames on the ship were getting bigger and Morty gawped at it, feeling vaguely that he should try to do something.  Just then an unfortunately aimed socket wrench clocked him over his right eye.  “Ow! <em>Ohhhh.</em>”  Morty hunched over and held his head.  His fugue was over in a millisecond, replaced by a deep blossoming rage.</p>
<p>“Y-y-y-y!” He tried to get out.  Rick wasn’t paying him <em>any </em>mind.  “W-w-w watch where you throw stuff, <em>Rick!” </em>He shrieked as another piece of space garbage landed by his hip.</p>
<p>“Ah…HA!”  Rick pulled back from the ship, victoriously brandishing a tricked-out fire extinguisher.  A fresh explosion on the far side of the ship silhouetted Rick and sent him reeling back.  Morty shielded his eyes. “Wooooah, shit!” Rick patted a stray flame off his lab coat with a huff of surprise, and then pulled the pin on the extinguisher and swept it over the flames.</p>
<p>The fire put out, Rick tossed aside the extinguisher and plopped himself down on the ground with a heavy whoosh of air.  He and Morty took in the wreckage together. </p>
<p>“Well, shit,” Rick grunted, slipping his flask out from his coat pocket and taking a swig.  He rested his elbows on his knees and threw Morty a tired but amicable half smile. “This looks- this is a bit of a- a <em>pickle </em>we’re in, huh Morty?”</p>
<p>Morty stared at him blankly.  Anger bubbled up into his throat and simmered there.  Rick misinterpreted Morty’s expression.  “Get it? Because I did the- the Pickle Rick thing, Morty?”  Morty’s eyebrows lowered.  “Okay, fine, so I overdid the bit a little, it-it’s still good enough for a callback, Morty.” The fury rose out of Morty’s throat and coated his tongue like hot oil.  Morty pressed his lips together.  Rick scowled and began to grumble, but he was deliberately loud enough to be heard. “Next time I change- next time I edit your genome remind me to install a <em>sense of humor, </em>Jesus.”</p>
<p>The oil caught fire, and Morty was up and raging before he knew what he was doing.</p>
<p>“W-w-w-why did you have to double-cross the Smarkians, Rick, huh?  Was-was-was it <em>that hard </em>to just take our cut and deliver their stupid, oil-whatever?!”</p>
<p>Rick was up and looming over Morty just as fast.  “I’m not gonna waste my time explaining intergalactic black markets to you, <em>Morty.  </em>Our ‘cut’ was a lowball and I’m-and I don’t take deals without my fair cut, <em>Morty.” </em></p>
<p>“<em>Our </em>fair cut.”</p>
<p>Rick’s monobrow rose to his hairline and he laughed cynically. “<em>Our </em>cut?”  He leaned down to Morty’s height and it only served to emphasize just how small Morty really was.  “What the <em>fuck </em>do you think you’re gonna use <em>your </em>smarkles on, Morty?  Do you know how to use Smarkian currency, Morty?  You-d’you-should I hold your hand and take you through the black market on Xhezk-12 to pick out something to buy, <em>Morty</em>? </p>
<p>Morty was <em>not </em>going to cry.  “I-I-if <em>you </em>hadn’t turned on them-“ Morty jabbed his finger “-we wouldn’t be here, Rick!”</p>
<p>Rick leaned back and took a pull from his flask while Morty was talking.  “Statistically, <em>MoAAUrty, </em>it was a no-brainer.  Smarkians are dumb as <em>shit, </em>Morty, I told you already.  We get the cash, we keep the smark oil, we flip ‘em off and leave!”</p>
<p>“Yeah, that-that <em>really </em>worked out for us, Rick.  Went <em>real </em>well.”</p>
<p>“How the fuUUGHck was I supposed to know they hired a Moopian crew, huh, Morty?” Rick threw up his hands and alcohol sloshed out of his flask.  “I’m a <em>genius, </em>not a mind reader!”</p>
<p>“<em>Some genius</em>,” Morty mumbled.</p>
<p>Rick snatched a fistful of Morty’s shirt and yanked him up.  “You wanna run that by me again, <em>Morty,</em>” he snarled.  “I’m old and-and hard of hearing, <em>Morty, speak up.</em>”</p>
<p>Morty grabbed Rick’s wrist and kicked his legs in distress “We’re <em>fucked, </em>Rick! No portal gun!  No-we’re-a-all for some stupid <em>oil!” </em> </p>
<p>Rick let Morty go with a beleaguered sigh.  He gazed at the ship and rubbed the back of his neck.  “If-if it’s any consolation, Morty, smark oil is a pretty decent fuel source and I can-with the right reagent I can use it for ship repair.  Makes a good adhesive, Morty.”</p>
<p>“Oh, oh <em>good</em>! Then we’ll have the smarkles and-and no oil, just like we <em>would have had </em>at-at the-if we’d-“</p>
<p>Rick snapped back “Did I say I’d use <em>all </em>the oil, <em>Morty</em>?”  Morty stumbled to come up with a good retort, but Rick had already left to assess the ship.  He looked it over, popping open the hood, glancing underneath, and doing a full walkaround. Rick took a deep drink, running his fingers through his disheveled hair and sighing, and Morty felt a wave of exhaustion roll over him.  The lingering silence felt more oppressive than the fighting had.  Morty rubbed the small bump forming over his right eye and glowered.</p>
<p>“Gonna take a little while to fix this baby,” Rick said.  He kneeled down, set his flask aside, and examined the hinges on the ship’s door.  “I’ll-I’ll fix up the doors tonight and save the rest for tomorrow.” He shuffled around in the ship and unrolled a knife kit, selecting a machete and holding the handle out to Morty.  “Get some firewood, Morty.  It-it’s a Rick and Morty camping episode!” Rick grinned and did a jazz hand with the one not holding the knife.</p>
<p>Morty took the machete, pointedly ignoring Rick’s comedic bid for attention, or reconciliation, or-whatever it was.  For the first time, he took stock of their surroundings.  They were in a valley, surrounded on three sides by steep rolling hills.  To Morty’s right, a forest of tall, narrow, broad-leaved trees extended into the distance.  The valley they were standing in was mostly dirt.  It was extremely red, but everything on this planet seemed hued with warm colors.  The hills looked like mounds of honey, and the forest was made up of pale white tree trunks and vivid yellow leaves as far as Morty could see.  The double sunset threw long, forking shadows over the ground and gave everything the light touched a ruby blush.</p>
<p>Morty headed for the forest.  Just within the tree line, a quiet river burbled through the woods.  Morty went over and dipped his hand into the cool water, cupping some of it in his palm.  He couldn’t tell if the water was actually purple, or if the sunset was making it look that way.  A drink was tempting, but he held off.  Alien planet meant alien rules; it was best to be wary.  He shook his hand and took stock of his firewood options.</p>
<p>The trees were all incredibly slender, and the branches splayed out far higher than a machete could reach.  Morty resolved to cut down an entire tree and chop it up into manageable logs.  He hefted the machete and swung it at the trunk of one of the trees.  The bark was soft and gave way easy.  A few more hard swings and the telltale crack of timber had Morty skipping back out of dodge as the tree tumbled down.  He set to work chopping the trunk and limbs into logs, and snapping off narrow twigs and sticks for tinder.  By the time he had a decent stack to haul back, the last of the natural light was nearly gone, slipping away over the horizon.</p>
<p>When Morty made it back to the clearing, machete and firewood in hand, Rick was clearly very occupied with the ship.  A little lantern lit up Rick’s workspace and Morty felt a flicker of irritation at not being given something to light his forest excursion, but the feeling slipped away and he took to setting up the campfire in an empty patch of dirt nearby, crisscrossing the logs and stuffing the tinder and kindling into the center. </p>
<p>That task completed, he stood up and risked a glance at Rick.  “You done, Morty?” Rick asked, without looking up. </p>
<p>“Yeah.”</p>
<p>“Great-perfect timing,” Rick said, grunting as he twisted a screw into the ship door tightly before standing up and wiping his forehead.  “Good as new!” He slammed the door shut triumphantly and looked at Morty. </p>
<p>A beat of silence lingered between the two of them.  Try as he might, Morty couldn’t find it in himself to respond, so he just stood there, waiting.  Rick’s mouth was smiling but his eyes looked…tired, old.  Something twisted in Morty’s chest and he looked away.</p>
<p>“Welp,” Rick picked up a few items from the ground beside him and came over to Morty.  He handed Morty a small unfolding stool and kept the other for himself, plopping down by the campfire, his back to the forest.  Morty set himself up catty corner to Rick, the forest to his right. </p>
<p>Rick flicked open a lighter and held the flame to the kindling.  Immediately the fire caught and the campfire started to fill out in earnest, a warm flickering glow illuminating Rick and Morty’s faces.  Rick pocketed the lighter and placed his last items, two cubes of foil-like material, into the center of the fire.  “Dinner,” he said. Morty nodded vacantly.</p>
<p>They waited while their food cooked.  The fire crackled and popped.  When the food was ready, Rick opened the tops of both foil packets, stuck in a plastic spoon, and handed Morty one of them.  It was decent- a sort of curry rice that Morty actually quite liked.  With a hot meal filling up his belly, Morty started to feel a little better. </p>
<p>Rick huffed out a laugh. “Y’know,” he said, between mouthfuls, “It’s-it’s lucky I still had these rations, Morty.  Last ones.  I didn’t- I haven’t restocked the ship in months!” Rick snorted mirthfully and Morty felt utterly robbed of the good mood he’d been working towards.</p>
<p>“That…that’s real comforting, Rick.” He couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice, hard as he tried.</p>
<p>Rick shrugged and scraped out a last spoonful of rice.  He crumpled up the foil and discarded both it and his spoon on the dirt. “Didn’t say it to be comforting.”  He picked some food out of his teeth with his pinkie and flicked it away.  Morty didn’t respond.  He worked on finishing his rice.</p>
<p>The “chk” of a lighter made Morty glance up.  Rick was lighting himself a cigarette.  That was pretty rare.  Rick was a man of many vices, but smoking was lower on the list.  Rick took a deep drag and tilted his head back to let the smoke curl out of his lips, and Morty felt heat color his cheeks despite himself. </p>
<p>Morty hated the smell of cigarette smoke.  Of course, he hated the taste of vodka too, but when Rick pushed his tongue into Morty’s mouth, there was nothing he loved more than drinking down the flavor of stale alcohol mixed with Rick’s spit.  Somehow Rick took all of Morty’s rules and flipped them topsy-turvy.  Morty wanted to taste Rick’s smoke…and right now he resented it.</p>
<p>Rick took another pull, eyes closed, savoring the flavor.  When he opened his eyes and released another billow of smoke, he met Morty’s gaze and smiled like he <em>knew. </em> He probably did. </p>
<p>Morty’s breath caught in his throat.   He occupied himself with scrunching up the foil in his hands and searched for a better distraction.  “So, uh, what…what planet are we on?”</p>
<p>Rick held the cigarette between his fingers.  “Oh, one of the Trara planets.  E-90…96?  94?” Rick waved his hand dismissively.  “It doesn’t- it’s a pretty tame solar system, Morty.”</p>
<p>“Not-not too dangerous, then, I guess?” Morty asked.</p>
<p>Rick took another drag and Morty allowed himself to watch Rick’s lips as the waft of smoke coiled out.  Morty crunched his foil harder.</p>
<p>“Not-not really, Morty.”  Rick tapped some ash onto the ground.  “There’s a more advanced alien species on one of ‘em, but they’re not- they’re nothing to write home about.” Rick pulled out his flask and washed down his nicotine with alcohol.  “Pretty standaAAURrd.  Average laser tech, but-but aside from that, nada. They-they haven’t even made it to space travel, Morty!” Rick’s eyes were wide in mock horror.</p>
<p>Morty laughed a little, the first friendly sound he’d made since the crash.  Rick’s mouth twitched up ever so slightly.  “Y’know, Rick, Earth hasn’t <em>really </em>made it to space travel either, if we-if you don’t count us…or the moon, I guess.”</p>
<p>“Like I said, Morty,” Rick smiled coyly and dropped the cigarette, grinding it with the toe of his shoe, “nothing to write home about.”</p>
<p>Morty suddenly wanted to ask Rick what <em>“home” </em>meant to him, but the thought weighed too heavy in his chest and he couldn’t get it out.  He relapsed back into brooding silence. </p>
<p>After a while, Rick stretched and got up with a groan.  He pressed his hands into his lower back and arched, a chorus of pops resounding from his spine.  “Gonna turn in, Morty.  The inside of the ship didn’t get fried, so we can just sleep in the back like usual,” he said. Morty nodded.</p>
<p>“What about-” he gestured at the fire.</p>
<p>Rick grabbed the extinguisher and let out one burst over the flames, throwing them both into darkness except for the light from the lantern by the ship. Morty realized for the first time that there was no moon to illuminate the night- only stars. </p>
<p>“Bada bing bada boooom,” Rick crowed, pivoting on his heel with flourish and returning to the ship.  Morty followed close behind.</p>
<p>The back of the ship was hardly roomy.  Rick and Morty had slept there many a night, but nothing about it qualified as a real bed.  It was more of a ledge that was originally made as built-in storage and had been co-opted over time into sleeping space.  The pillows and blankets haphazardly piled up on top of it was the only thing that made it resemble a bed at all. </p>
<p>Morty followed Rick into the back and brought the lantern inside with him, closing the ship’s door behind and latching it.  Rick kicked off his shoes and stripped down into his wife beater and boxers before settling in on his side, his back against the curved wall of the ship.  He pulled a blanket over himself and held it up for Morty. </p>
<p>Morty slipped off his own shoes and jeans, and then hesitated.  If he got into bed with Rick, he’d forgive him for today, he just <em>knew </em>it.  Morty cradled the resentment he’d tended to so far and tried to weigh his options.  Rick could see his cogs turning.  He rolled his eyes.  “Morty.”</p>
<p>Morty looked at him a little sheepishly.  Rick was wearing a bored expression that clearly said “I’m done with your shit,” and Morty gave up.  He switched off the lamp and laid down, pressing his face into Rick’s chest as Rick closed the blanket around his shoulders. Immediately Rick’s scent surrounded Morty, wrapping around him just as the blanket had done.  Morty closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, relaxing into Rick’s warmth, savoring it.</p>
<p><em>It’s not fair, </em>he thought to himself.</p>
<p>Rick’s left hand combed through Morty’s hair, his long fingers picking out the tangles.  Morty felt tingling goosebumps rise all along his neck and shoulders and tried to breathe normally.  Softly, Rick’s hand brushed across Morty’s cheek, and then pinched Morty’s chin, pulling it up to his face.  A thrill of anticipatory pleasure sparked through Morty and pulsed in his groin.  Morty closed his eyes tighter.</p>
<p>Rick’s dry lips pressed against Morty’s and Morty leaned into it, smelling the awful charcoal in Rick’s breath and wanting <em>more</em>.  Too soon, Rick’s lips pulled back and Morty’s parted in a silent, needy pant.  Rick chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest.  He gently bit Morty’s bottom lip and retreated, draping his arm over Morty and settling back into the pillows.</p>
<p>“’Night, baby,” Rick murmured.</p>
<p>Morty blinked and laid his head down into the crook of Rick’s arm, trying to steady his breathing.  Oh, so…not tonight, then.  He tried to decide that he didn’t want Rick tonight anyway, but the half chub in his boxers pulsed once more, as if to deliberately mock him. </p>
<p>Gradually, Rick’s arm got heavier, and his breathing slowed and deepened.  Morty snuggled in closer.  He could feel Rick’s heartbeat, a steady and reassuring lub-dub, thumping against his chest.</p>
<p><em>It’s just not fair, </em>Morty thought once more, before drifting off beneath the comforting weight of Rick’s arm.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Morty awoke drowsy, achy, and sweaty.  Early morning sun(s)light beamed into the ship, and Morty kept his eyes scrunched mostly closed as he shuffled into a sitting position, hefting Rick (who had rolled over in the night) back to his side of the bed.  Morty rubbed his eyes and lifted his head, finally blinking completely awake…and stared directly into massive, watery, stalked eyeballs and a bulbous, very sentient alien face pressing against the glass of the ship.</p>
<p>They screamed at the same time.  Morty pinwheeled back in the bed, throwing the covers off and slipping onto the bottle-littered floor with a crash.  He scrambled around the floor for a weapon.  Something-anything!  A sharp staticky crack sounded from outside and a laser ricocheted off the ship’s dome.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Rick was waking up, grouching and snorting into consciousness as only old men can.  His entire voice rattled.  “Whuuuut the fuuuuck, <em>Morty.” </em></p>
<p>“Rick! Rick, the-! O-o-o-outside!” Morty grabbed two fistfuls of his hair and moaned.</p>
<p>Rick blinked in slow motion, turned to look outside- “Oh, <em>shit!” -</em>and was immediately awake. He dove off the bed, slammed himself against the back of the driver’s seat and yanked the seat’s back clear off.  From inside he pulled out a long high-tech rifle for himself and tossed Morty a thick and dangerous looking pistol.  Morty fumbled the catch and clutched the pistol to his chest with his two sweaty little hands.</p>
<p>Rick hunched at the door and peeked over.  A rain of lasers pinged uselessly off of the ship.  Rick ducked back down, laughed once sharply, and mumbled to himself. “That’s right you fucks, use up aaaaaall that ammo.” He peeked his head back over, triggering another round of laser fire, and jerked back down, sniggering. “Won’t even-won’t even need to leave the ship!”  Rick rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his thumb and smiled in Morty’s direction.</p>
<p>Then a ghastly cracking sound reverberated through the ship’s glass dome.  Rick’s face dropped.  Morty gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, squeezing his hands around the pistol.</p>
<p>“New plan.  Gonna have to run for it, Morty.”  Rick flicked down the door’s lock and gripped the handle. “On my mark,”</p>
<p>Morty scrambled over to Rick and crouched behind him.</p>
<p>“Three…two…”</p>
<p>In a sudden, manic outburst, Morty wailed “I don’t have my <em>shoes!” </em></p>
<p>“ONE!”</p>
<p>Rick bolted out, firing a spray of bullets across an alarmingly large crowd of aliens and making a diagonal beeline to the right, headed for the hills.  Morty was hot at his heels.  Laser fire peppered the air around them and threw up clods of dirt at their feet.</p>
<p>With a level of expertise that belied his age, Morty cocked his pistol, aimed, and took out three of the aliens closest behind them as he and Rick pounded up the hill at top speed.  When they made it to the crest, Rick pivoted 180 and took a knee, shouldering his rifle and opening fire.  Morty stood to his right, taking out the closest front lines of aliens as they tried to pursue them up the hill.</p>
<p>Despite their numbers, the aliens were too slow and their aim was poor.  From the top of the hill Rick and Morty methodically began to fill the valley with corpses.  Far off, behind the ship, more shapes started to rise up over the horizon.</p>
<p>“Bogies on the hills, straight ahead,” Rick barked.  “Cover me, Morty!”</p>
<p>“Got it.” Morty took to wiping out the few remaining enemies in the valley while Rick flicked up a scope, took careful aim, and dropped the distant silhouettes one by one. Pop! Pop! Pop!</p>
<p>The numbers dwindled down to almost nothing, and then just like that, all was quiet.  Morty lowered his pistol and looked to his left at Rick.  Rick stood up with a satisfied grin and turned his eyes, glittering with adrenaline and victory, at Morty.  His elation was infectious, the air was electric.  Morty began to laugh giddily, and once he’d started, he couldn’t stop.  With a whoop, Rick raised his hand for a high five. </p>
<p>A fizzing crack split the air behind them, and Rick had a hole in his stomach.  He whipped his head around with a snarl and toppled to the ground, landing hard on his back.  Morty shrieked, dropping his pistol and diving to Rick’s side.</p>
<p>“Rick! Oh shit, oh <em>shit.</em>”</p>
<p>Rick cracked open his eyes and turned his head away from Morty’s worried face, out towards the hills.  He tried to aim his rifle with one hand and fired a single useless shot straight out into nothing.  He appeared immensely irritated.</p>
<p>That’s when Morty looked up.  From behind the rolling horizon, another cluster of aliens were steadily emerging, weapons lifted.  Morty’s veins were suddenly infused with a blend of insane confidence and blind rage.  <em>Nobody </em>fucked with Rick and got away with it.  <em>Nobody.</em></p>
<p>“You wanna play?” Morty snatched Rick’s rifle from his hand and planted his feet on either side of Rick’s torso, his left foot in front, his right dug in behind.  He stood up, tall and possessive, and shouldered the rifle.  “L-l-l-let’s fucking <em>play!”</em></p>
<p>Morty unleashed hell.  Laser shots whizzed through the air all around him.  One brushed past his cheek and left a scorching trail on his skin but Morty didn’t feel it.  He only saw targets.  One by one, in rapid succession, the aliens fell.  Gratifying starbursts of blue shot out from their heads each time Morty met his mark, and he shrieked with animal satisfaction.  He had them down to five…to two…to one.</p>
<p>Something about the last one made Morty’s finger hitch against the trigger.  He looked down the barrel, panting raggedly and dripping with sweat.  It took a moment for his bloodlust to clear before he knew why he’d stopped.</p>
<p>This alien was small…so much smaller than the others.  It held its laser gun up with trembling, fatty appendages, and Morty could tell that its aim was terribly off.  Maybe it was a juvenile, off on the hunt for the first time.  Maybe mom or dad were on the ground right now, leaking blue blood onto the warm honey hued grass.</p>
<p>“Druh-“ Morty’s mouth was dry.  He licked his lips.  “Drop it!”</p>
<p>The alien jumped.  Its bulbous eyestalks jiggled.</p>
<p>Morty jerked his rifle once at the ground.  “<em>Drop it!”</em> He yelled with all the volume he could muster.</p>
<p>The alien’s watery eyes rippled with a myriad of colors.  It looked confused.  Morty pressed the pad of his finger into the trigger.  The alien suddenly hurled its gun to its feet and looked at Morty, its chubby, empty little hands hovered in front of it, frightened and unsure.  Morty blew out a long, slow breath.  He locked his big brown eyes on the alien’s big multicolored ones.  He’d been where that alien was before.  He knew what it felt like.  Morty lowered the rifle.</p>
<p>The poor thing tried to be quick, it really did.  Its pudgy little legs squatted down, whether to turn and run or to grab its pistol, Morty would never know. Morty’s shot caught it square in the forehead and it dropped straight down. The alien’s expression as it fell left an afterimage burning in Morty’s eyes.  He blinked it away, but even as he did, he knew he’d be seeing that face again in his nightmares.  Oh, well.  Just add it to the list.</p>
<p>He swept his eyes one last time across the landscape, just to be sure, then turned his attention to Rick.  Rick was propped up on his left elbow; his right hand was pressed hard over his stomach, where a large red circle was expanding rapidly across his wifebeater.  Morty would have attended to him immediately but something froze him in place, if only for a moment. </p>
<p>Rick was looking up at him, and his face was…it was making an absolutely <em>bizarre</em> expression.  Reading the myriad of Rick’s “neutral” expressions was practically a second language, and Morty considered himself fluent, but this…this was new.  There was something <em>there </em>behind the eyes, in the way he looked at- looked <em>into </em>Morty, that threw him off entirely. </p>
<p>The wind picked up and blew out from the valley.  It whipped at Rick and Morty’s hair and wicked the sweat from Morty’s forehead.  Morty opened his mouth a little but no words came.  Rick’s parted too, as if to say something himself, but the foreign expression evaporated, replaced with a familiar grimace of pain. </p>
<p>The spell was broken.  Morty tossed aside the gun and reached down.  “Here, can you…?”</p>
<p>Rick offered Morty his free arm and Morty tried his best, but it wasn’t enough.   With a grunt and swing of momentum Rick threw both his hands in vice grips around Morty’s biceps and the two used the leverage to finally get Rick on his feet.  Morty looked down at the wound.  Oh jeez.  Oh, not good.  Morty wished he didn’t know things sometimes, wished he didn’t know that the goopy thing seeping out of Rick’s injury was intestine. </p>
<p>Rick glanced down too.  He tsked and put his hand back over it.  Morty checked Rick’s back and saw the blood coming out there, as well, so he pressed his own hand on it and slowly started guiding Rick, leaning heavily on Morty’s shoulder, back to the ship.  Rick stumbled briefly shuffling down the slope but recovered.  He wheezed.  “Quite a- quite a <em>pickle-</em>”</p>
<p>“Oh my <em>god</em>,” Morty let out a hoarse laugh despite himself, and felt Rick’s chuckle against his shoulder.</p>
<p>“Worth... a callback….” Rick rasped. “I told you, Morty.”</p>
<p>Morty groaned, but any derision in his voice was softened as he tilted his head affectionately in Rick’s direction.  They finally made it down into the valley, now filled with alien bodies.  Morty sat Rick down on his fortuitously corpse-free stool by the fire pit.  With Rick seated, a fresh sense of urgency poured through Morty’s body.  He bolted to the ship and yanked open a drawer under their bed, looking for one of their good med kits.  He dug around.  Nothing.  He pulled open the other drawers.  Nada.</p>
<p>“Rick!” Morty called over his shoulder. “Rick, where’s the med kit?!?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know, <em>Morty</em>!”</p>
<p>“We always put it under-under the bed, where? <em>Where!?!”</em></p>
<p>“Probably-“ a grunt of pain-“moved it!”</p>
<p>“O-o-o-of all the fucking- <em>why!?!” </em>Morty dove to the front of the ship and threw things about wildly.</p>
<p>“Oh, so, <em>so </em>sorry, <em>Morty!</em>  Next time a-“ Rick’s voice trailed a bit- “a vultubian drinks all your blood I’ll-I’ll make sure to…to…ugh.” He went silent.</p>
<p>Morty wrenched open the front glove compartment and garbage spilled out.  A pile of CDs, the Meeseeks box, a…nope not the time to think about that one, and-</p>
<p>“Oh, thank god.”  Morty snatched up the kit and ran back to Rick.  He was still conscious but really, really pale.  Without delay, Morty popped open the kit, grabbed a cylinder, and flicked it open to reveal a thick white stick, about half a foot long, with a short hilt and handle on the end.  He whipped out a glass flask, eyeballed a measurement of blue powder and threw it in.  He cracked open a liquid packet with his teeth and added that, too.  The mixture fizzed and a plume of cold vapor rose from the flask.  Morty dipped in the stick, counted to ten, and pulled it out.  It was now ice blue and vapor poured off of it. </p>
<p>He looked up at Rick.  That <em>bizarre </em>expression again!  What <em>was </em>it?  No. No time. </p>
<p>“Ready?” Morty asked.  They both knew what was coming.</p>
<p>“<em>Hoooo</em>, boy, do it, <em>do it, Morty!”</em> Rick yanked his hand away and Morty jammed the entire stick into Rick’s wound, up to the hilt.  Rick threw his head back and roared out in pain, slamming his fist down onto his thigh.  He clacked his jaw shut and grimaced, puffing air in and out through his teeth. </p>
<p>Morty counted to 30 seconds and pulled out the stick, watching the muscle and ligaments stitch themselves back up as the tool retreated, leaving a raw puckered scar behind on Rick’s flesh.  Morty fell back on his heels and breathed a deep sigh of relief. </p>
<p>It was going to be okay. </p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Rick leaned forward and dropped his head.  The pain was probably retreating, but the scar would stay tender for a while.  Morty figured he should put some bandages on it- maybe some painkiller, too.  He realized, with a sort of morbid amusement, that they probably painted quite a picture: messy-haired from sleep, still in their boxers, absolutely covered in blood.  He glanced down at his crimson hands.</p>
<p>“Is- is the water on this planet-is the water here safe?” Morty asked.</p>
<p>Rick rubbed his fingers over his forehead and pressed them into his eye before looking up.  “What?”</p>
<p>“Is the water, y’know, there’s-there’s a river in the forest and I figured- I figure we should clean up…and-and stuff.”</p>
<p>“Hmph.”  Rick’s brow raised and he bobbed his head once in agreement.  “Yeah, water here’s safe, Morty.”</p>
<p>He shouldn’t say it.  Don’t say it.  “S-safe like the aliens were supposed to be, Rick?”</p>
<p>Rick squinted and his lip pulled back into a sneer.  “Eat shit, Morty.”</p>
<p>Fair enough.</p>
<p>Morty returned to the ship and got dressed, then he fetched some empty wine bottles from the floor and made the trek out to the woods for water.  Morty dipped his hands into the cool stream and rinsed himself off before filling up the bottles.  (He was pleasantly surprised to note that the water was, indeed, an enchanting shade of lavender.)  When Morty returned, Rick was up and working on the ship, as if he hadn’t just lost a gallon of blood in a shootout.  His blood-soaked tank top was discarded on the ground nearby, but he’d put on his slacks, belt, and shoes.</p>
<p>Morty set down the bottles and scrounged up a mostly clean washrag from the ship.  He soaked the rag and held it up, indecisive.  Rick seemed incredibly invested in the ship, and whether it was deliberate or not, he hadn’t acknowledged Morty since his return.  Morty swept his eyes over Rick’s back a little indulgently.  The fresh scar on his lower right side was bright pink against his ashen gray skin, and the drying blood was still everywhere.  A drop of sweat intermingled with the blood and dripped down beneath Rick’s belt.  Morty swallowed thickly and lifted the washrag.</p>
<p>With snakelike speed, Rick dropped the tool he’d been using and snatched the rag from Morty’s hands.  “I can do that-I-I don’t need hospice care, <em>Morty,”</em> he snapped, and began to wipe himself down with substantially more aggression than necessary.</p>
<p>Morty frowned, but he left it alone.  He fetched the med kit and brought it back to the ship, holding it up briefly for Rick to notice before sitting himself on the ship’s floor at the foot of the driver’s seat, his feet dangling out.  He quietly unwrapped two square bandages from the kit and rested his head on the seat cushion, waiting for Rick to finish.   </p>
<p>When Rick was done, he plopped down sideways into the driver’s seat, rudely bouncing Morty’s head off of the cushion.  “Okay, baby,” he said, scooching away a bit to present Morty with his back.  “Patch me up.” Morty sighed begrudgingly.  He picked out a tube of ointment and squirted some onto the scar.  As the ointment hit his skin, the scar soaked it up and Rick groaned appreciatively.  “<em>Ohh-ho</em>, you gave me the good stuff, Morty.”</p>
<p>A quiet puff of laughter left Morty’s lips.  “Yeah, I-I guess I did.” Rick hummed happily as Morty applied the bandage and pressed it onto the skin.  “Okay.  Done.”</p>
<p>Rick swiveled in the seat and slid his right leg past Morty, boxing the boy in between his legs. Morty blinked and looked up, raising one eyebrow. He held up the ointment and the other bandage expectantly, but Rick simply gestured at the scar on his front- “One to go, Morty-” then crossed his arms behind his head.  His lids hung low over his eyes, a lazy smile crooking at the corners of his lips.  </p>
<p>Morty shuffled up onto his knees and scooted forward a little.  “Thought you didn’t need hospice care,” he muttered, applying the salve to Rick’s front scar anyway.  A soft, second moan whistled out between Rick’s lips as the ointment sank in once more.   After Morty pressed on the bandage, Rick’s long lanky fingers reached down and swept through his hair, just as they had last night.</p>
<p>Morty froze only a moment, and then he sagged into the contact.  It was nice.  Plain and simple, it was nice.  Rick’s fingers combed and Morty drifted.  A breeze kicked up and cooled the light sheen of sweat on their skin. </p>
<p>Rick gently but firmly clenched his fingers around the hair at the base of Morty’s neck and pulled back, making Morty look up at him.  The two gazed at one another; the air grew denser, harder to breathe.  The corners of Rick’s eyes crinkled and a drowsy, lopsided smirk spread across his lips.  “You look good down there, Morty.” Morty coughed and darted his eyes away, but Rick clenched his fist around Morty’s hair, the greedy ass, and Morty’s eyes returned. </p>
<p><em>I’m not a mind reader, </em>Rick had said yesterday, but sometimes he might as well be.  Morty couldn’t hide the memories as they flickered across his face.  He’d been here so many times before, kneeling at the foot of the chair while Rick drove, tugging at his hair, forcing him down, setting the pace.  <em>God,</em> the praise he got when he sucked Rick off.  It was nonstop, a torrent.  Right here was where Rick first pushed Morty to deepthroat, holding his head down all the way while tears spilled out; where he gulped involuntarily around Rick’s dick as it pulsed inside him.  Oh, it had hurt, but how Rick looked…how Rick had looked at him…Morty swallowed heavily.  A slow, unhurried arousal bled through Morty’s body, taking its time as it seeped into every limb.  Rick’s brow furrowed slightly and his tongue flicked out over his lower lip.  Morty glanced down at the motion and Rick breathed in deeply; his eyes were soft, fond.  </p>
<p>Rick released Morty’s hair and cupped his jaw, tilting his head to the side.  His thumb brushed the scorch mark on Morty’s cheek that Morty had all but forgotten.  And then…oh that look, that weird <em>look. </em> It was seeping in behind Rick’s eyes.  Morty squinted a little, tried to figure it out.  What had triggered it?  What was Rick <em>thinking </em>about?  Morty laid his little hands over Rick’s ankles and slipped his fingers up, dipping underneath his pant legs, clinging to Rick’s body as he tried to get a handhold in Rick’s mind.  But then Rick sighed and tilted his head away, and just like that, the door was shut.</p>
<p>“What a-what a way to wake up, huh, Morty?” Rick ran his palm over Morty’s neck and let it rest on his shoulder, the erotic tension giving way to their more common intimacy.</p>
<p>“Oh, heh, yeah, Rick.”  Morty’s throat felt tight.  He wished he could figure out that weird expression, but more than that, he wished for Rick’s hand back in his hair. </p>
<p>“Well, we can’t- we gotta get the ship fixed up some time,” Rick said.  He leaned over to the passenger’s side of the ship, swiped the Meeseeks box from the pile of junk, and sat back up with a grunt. “And maybe take care of <em>that, </em>too,” Rick added, jerking his thumb out at the valley of corpses.</p>
<p>He whacked the button atop the box multiple times, and immediately a chorus of “I’m Mr. Meeseeks, look at me!” screeched out one after the other, the muppet-like blue men popping into existence in puffs of smoke. </p>
<p>“Meeseeks, take all those dead guys-“ Rick gestured “-and take ‘em over the hills.”  Rick paused, then added, “and take-a-and bring all their weapons back here.”</p>
<p>A cacophonous wave of “Hoo-ee” and “Caaan do!” and “Oh boy, look at me!” spilled out of the Meeseeks as they scurried off to do their tasks. </p>
<p>Rick fondly smacked Morty’s cheek twice, slid his legs past him, and got up.  Morty followed him out and hovered nearby.  No doubt the demands for pliers, and hammers, and specific sizes of screwdrivers would start piling up as soon as Rick got to work.</p>
<p>Rick first slipped back into his blue shirt, pulling it down over the bandages, and donned his lab coat, then he unfolded a small creeper seat and set it on the ground.  He was about to roll under the ship when he paused, threw a calculating glance in Morty’s direction, and got back up.  He picked up a few select tools and popped the hood of the ship.</p>
<p>“Morty,” he swiped his hand.  Morty came over.</p>
<p>“Look,” Rick pried open a fire-damaged box and then tugged out the wires on either side of it.  “Pay attention, Morty.”  Suddenly, and with absolutely <em>no </em>warning, Rick was rattling off details about the inner workings of the ship that he had never, <em>ever,</em> shared with Morty before. Stuff about “relays” and “check the solenoids with this, Morty” and “you’ll have to strip and reattach the wires here, there, and on the back end, Morty.”</p>
<p><em>What? </em>Rick was looking at him expectantly.</p>
<p>“W-w-w-w, <em>me?” </em>Morty blustered.  He’d been listening, but-but!  Rick’s only answer was to shove his armful of tools into Morty’s chest and throw an emphatically evil grin over his shoulder before gliding under the ship. </p>
<p>Morty stood there, positively shell shocked.  He looked into the ship’s hood, looked over at Rick’s feet, back to the hood.  The reality slowly dawned on him…Rick had meant it.  Rick expected him to…Morty took a steadying breath and mentally reviewed what he could recall from Rick’s impromptu lecture.  He assessed the tools in his arms, and to his pleasant surprise, found that he actually recognized most of them.  Selecting a tool and setting the rest down, Morty leaned over the ship, taking one last glance at Rick’s apathetic feet.</p>
<p>“Oh, jeez,” he whispered to himself, and with that, he hunched over and took to the task as best he could.  Time passed; the discordant clangs of their work echoed through the valley.  The Meeseeks scurried about in the background, hauling off aliens and dropping weaponry by Rick’s feet.  Eventually, Morty stood up, wiping his greasy fingers off on his pants and taking in his handywork with a small amount of satisfaction.  So now what? He shuffled up to Rick’s legs and, after a pause, rapped the side of the ship with his knuckles.</p>
<p>Rick rolled out, his face a mask of boredom.  “Done?”</p>
<p>“Uh, I think so?  Maybe.  Yes.”</p>
<p>Rick snorted, but he got up and looked in the hood to appraise Morty’s job.  He rummaged, mumbled something entirely indecipherable, and then twisted and yanked out a handful of the wires Morty had <em>just</em> re-attached.  Morty clenched his fists.  What had he expected?  Affection? Praise?  Rick was talking, buzzing, annoying, like a mosquito.</p>
<p>“<em>Morty!” </em>Rick punched his shoulder.  Morty blinked and looked up, not bothering to conceal his irritation.  Rick rolled his eyes.  “Pay attention, Morty, Jesus.  Look.”  He pulled Morty closer by the shirt sleeve and held up the wires.  “You stripped these like shit, Morty.  They won’t- you barely wound them on.  That’s gonna go to- gonna fall apart the second we’re off the ground.  Look,” Rick deftly stripped one of the wires and wrapped it tight around one of the metal pegs.  He yanked at the wire violently.  It held fast.  “And <em>that </em>is how you do it.” He pressed the wire stripper back into Morty’s hands and went right back under the ship.</p>
<p>“Do it yourself, if you’re so perfect,” Morty mumbled angrily to the empty air, even as he hefted the wire strippers and went to redoing the job.  When he’d finished, again, he called Rick up to check.  Again, Rick found an error.  And so it went, with Rick assigning tasks, Morty attempting to fulfill them, and Rick critiquing the job many times over before considering it even remotely up to par.  When Morty <em>did </em>manage to finish the job, his reward was another flippantly assigned task for him to likewise fail at.</p>
<p>As the day wore on, Morty’s irritation evolved into anger, and the anger mutated into billowing resentment, with a pinch of self-pity.  Even worse, Rick’s mood seemed to be picking <em>up</em> the longer they worked.  After the Meeseeks had finished their job and disappeared in puffs of blue smoke, Rick went through the weaponry stash, eager as a kid at Christmas.</p>
<p>“Parts, Morty!” Rick victoriously held aloft his various finds.  “Gonna cut my work in half, <em>baby!</em>”</p>
<p>“Great,” Morty huffed, in the midst of soldering some electrical components together, probably poorly, as Rick would soon let him know.  Despite all of the work he’d done, Morty hadn’t left the hood of the ship.  Meanwhile, Rick was everywhere: under the ship, over, inside, at the back, and now with more tech to work with, his pace had picked up from efficient to frenetic.  His drinking had picked up, too.  Morty could smell it in his breath every time he came over, could see it in the slight sway of Rick’s head as he worked.</p>
<p>When Morty called Rick over for the next appraisal, and inevitably Rick pulled apart half of what he’d done, Morty couldn’t stand it any longer.  “H-h-how many times are you gonna make me do this, Rick?”  Morty slammed his hands down on the ship.</p>
<p>Rick’s brow lifted slightly, bemused.  “S’many as it takes<em>.</em>”</p>
<p>“That’s not an <em>answer!” </em></p>
<p>“Yes it is, Morty, you don’t-y-you just don’t like it.”</p>
<p>Morty stomped his foot. “<em>Rick!” </em></p>
<p>“<em>Morty!”</em> Rick parodied.</p>
<p>Morty’s face scrunched up in fury and Rick laughed, relaxed and buzzed.  He grabbed Morty’s cheeks and squished them, pecking Morty on the lips before returning to the far end of the ship.  “If- stop fAAUGHcking up and I’ll stop riding your ass,” he called over, his tone way too jovial for Morty’s taste.  </p>
<p>The day was impossibly long.  Morty was hot.  He was greasy.  His head hurt from being assaulted with a whirlwind of new ship information for hours on end.</p>
<p>When Morty finished piecing together a complicated set of tubing that was attached to the microverse battery, he knew it was time to get Rick’s judgement once more.  He stepped back, met Rick’s eyes expectantly, and wearily returned to the hood of the ship.  Rick arrived and leaned down on his elbows, taking a look around.</p>
<p>“Amateur at best, Morty.”  Rick tested the connection of the metal tubing.  He glanced up at Morty’s exhausted face knowingly.  <em>That</em> expression flickered behind Rick’s eyes and Morty went from half-dead to completely alert.  “But, it’ll do,” Rick added.  He pressed his hand into Morty’s chest and guided him a few steps back, then he slammed the hood shut.</p>
<p>“That’s- is that- am I done?” Morty couldn’t believe it.</p>
<p>Rick waved his hand and returned to his work.  “Take a break, Morty.”</p>
<p>Morty gratefully flopped down on the dusty ground.  He lay back, tucking his arms behind his head and drifting.  Foreign bird song lilted out of the forest and danced through the air.  Mysteriously, just as soothing was the quiet sloshing sound of Rick mixing chemicals nearby.   Morty dozed.  The shadows grew longer and the oppressive heat of the day began to retreat.  Rick was swearing.  Okay, <em>less </em>relaxing. </p>
<p>Morty reluctantly cracked open an eye when he heard Rick’s footsteps approaching.  He was running his hands through his hair and grimacing. </p>
<p>“Got a-uh, sort of a, good news, bad news, situation, Morty.  Good news, ship’s done except for patching up the glass.  Bad news, gonna take- gonna take a few hours for the smark oil to develop into adhesive.”</p>
<p>“A-a few?” Morty sat up.</p>
<p>Rick dropped his hand.  “A while,” he admitted.</p>
<p>Morty looked at the ground.  “A while.”  His finger twirled in the dirt.</p>
<p>Rick crouched down.  “Just one more overnight, Morty,” he said, cajoling.  “Rick and Morty camping episode, part two!” Morty glanced up.  Yep, as he’d suspected. </p>
<p>Rick was doing jazz hands. </p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Morty pulled up his knees and wrapped his arms around them.  “What if more aliens come?”</p>
<p>“Oh, the ship’s all fixed up except for the broken windshield.  We’ll just- we’ll just turn on the security system.  Besides,” Rick looked conspiratorially at Morty and grinned, “We could take ‘em, baby.”</p>
<p>Morty tightened his arms.  “What about food?”</p>
<p>Rick paused and then glanced briefly over the hills, where the Meeseeks had taken the-</p>
<p>“NO!” Morty shrieked.</p>
<p>“Jesus, calm down, fuck, I didn’t <em>suggest </em>it.” Rick held up his hands.</p>
<p>“You were <em>thinking </em>it! I’m not- I won’t-“</p>
<p>“Look, it was the easiest option, okay Morty?  I don’t get your weird hang-up-“</p>
<p>“<em>My </em>weird? My- y-you once ate human flesh to avoid <em>talking </em>to me!”</p>
<p>“I spit it <em>out, </em>Morty!”</p>
<p>“Oh, wow, Rick! That’s so great of you, Rick!  Great to know that- that my judgement got you to, y’know, not eat person meat!”</p>
<p>“Fine, point fucking made!” Rick stood up and brushed off his pants. “I’ll go hunt for something that will suit <em>your</em> delicate constitution, <em>princess</em>-” Morty sputtered but Rick cut him off “-while, <em>you </em>get us another round of firewood.”  Rick hefted his rifle and took a massive gulp from his flask.  “If thAAUGHt won’t put you off <em>too </em>terribly much, <em>Morty.</em>”</p>
<p>Morty watched as Rick stormed off into the woods, feeling inexplicably forlorn. </p>
<p>The fire wasn’t tough to set up.  Morty had a warm blaze going in no time.  He even constructed a little spit made of sticks, preempting that meat would be on the menu.  He sat down on his stool to wait, but Rick wasn’t long in the woods, either.  He came back with a small deer-like thing over his shoulder, but also some assorted fruits and veggies.  He used a plastic tarp, purloined from the ship, as a base and laid out the goods.  Rick pulled out a knife and deftly set to skinning the deer thing, keeping it well away from the greens. </p>
<p>Morty twisted his shirt in his hands.  He felt like he should be saying sorry, for some reason.  They fought all the time, and it was usually all hot air anyway, but, still… “I-I made a spit, so we could cook the meat,” Morty said softly. </p>
<p>Rick glanced up at it, then back down. “Not bad, Morty.”  He finished skinning the deer with a definitive swipe and paused.  “What-what do you think of ditching it and doing kebabs instead?”  Rick looked over with a slightly guarded expression, but Morty perked up, recognizing the peace offering for what it was.</p>
<p>“I’ll get some sticks!” He darted off to the forest, but not before seeing the crooked smile bloom on Rick’s face.  Morty’s chest hurt, and it had nothing to do with his jog out to the woods and back. </p>
<p>After Morty returned, Rick chopped deer into manageable meat chunks and Morty took to dicing up the fruits and veggies.  Sitting side by side, they speared the food onto their sticks, then moved to their stools, holding the kebabs over the fire and turning them slowly.</p>
<p>It was delicious.  Better than yesterday’s meal, definitely.  The fruit was tangy, the meat was rich and soft, and the veggies had a sharp, slightly bitter flavor that complimented the other two tastes surprisingly well.  Rick and Morty happily munched away, entirely focused on their food. When they’d finished, Morty let out a small burp and sighed contentedly. </p>
<p>“That-kebabs was a pretty good idea, Rick.”</p>
<p>“Up to your bougie tastes, Morty?”</p>
<p>Morty rolled his eyes but took the jab in good humor.  “One of us has to have taste, Rick.”</p>
<p>Rick laughed then, a genuine, rattling, wonderful sound.  “Glad to be of service, Morty.” Morty flushed slightly; his heart fluttered. </p>
<p>“Hey, aUUGhsk me if I have another good idea,” Rick said.</p>
<p>Morty pressed his lips together and looked at him suspiciously.</p>
<p>“C’mon,” Rick prompted.</p>
<p>Morty sighed.  “Hey, Rick, do you have another good idea?”</p>
<p>Rick ignored the sarcastic tone, pulling out some small reddish ping-pong sized…fruits? from his jacket and sticking two on the end of his stick.  He offered the other two to Morty and held his over the fire. </p>
<p>Morty followed Rick’s lead and started toasting them.  “What are they?”</p>
<p>“Dessert,” Rick replied, simply.  After sitting over the fire for a while, the little fruit things began to crack on the outside, and Rick pulled his back; Morty mimicked him.  “Try one,” Rick said eagerly.  “Take a biiiig whopping bite, Morty.”  </p>
<p>Morty pulled one off the stick and gave Rick one more suspicious glance before biting down.  The outside was sweet and crunched like thin sugar.  The inside was fluffy, almost like cotton candy, and was delectably tart.  Morty’s expression must have been rich, because Rick was chuckling.  Morty stuck out his tongue through his mouthful and Rick looked beyond pleased.  He helped himself to his own desserts and Morty ate his second one, faster than he felt he should have; the flavor deserved savoring.</p>
<p>The late evening light faded and genuine night cloaked them in darkness.  Once again, the fire was the only illumination, along with some dim lights glowing inside the ship.  Rick cracked his knuckles absently and yawned.  Something occurred to Morty.</p>
<p>“We’re missing family game night,” he said.</p>
<p>“Oh <em>no, </em>not that, Morty, shit, they’re so <em>unmissable</em>,” Rick replied with a snigger.</p>
<p>It was a predictable response.  What wasn’t predictable was Morty’s sudden irritation.  “We should have been home in time for it,” he bristled.</p>
<p>“Oh, come on, Morty,” Rick kept his tone light, “you don’t actually enjoy game night.  None of us do.  It’s an obligation, a-a cardboard cutout of what your parents think family is supposed to look like.  A façade of healthy suburban life.  ‘Oh yes, Ms. Jones, our family is doing well, on Saturdays we play DownBeat!’”</p>
<p>“W-well what would <em>you </em>suggest for family bonding?” Morty was being too defensive, but he couldn’t help it, couldn’t stop it.  Why was he ruining the good mood, the kebabs, the dessert?  “Crash the ship Fridays?  A-alien assault Saturdays?”</p>
<p>“Between that and-and <em>DownBeat, </em>Morty?  <em>Yes,</em>” Rick snapped back.</p>
<p>Morty folded his arms and glared into the fire.  In his periphery, he could see Rick watching him, confused, annoyed, oh, and. That. Damn. <em>Look. </em>It was back.  That was <em>it.  </em></p>
<p>“Stop it.”</p>
<p>“Stop what, Morty?”</p>
<p>“Stop…<em>looking </em>at me,” he hissed through gritted teeth.</p>
<p>“So I’m not allowed to <em>look </em>at you now, Morty?” Rick’s voice was brittle.  “Y-you don’t like it when I <em>look</em> at you?”</p>
<p>Morty winced.  “N-no, that’s not what I-“</p>
<p>“Anything else you need to tell me, <em>Morty</em>? Any more rules I’ve gotta- y-you’d like me to know about?”</p>
<p>“N-n-n-“</p>
<p>“Should I be taking notes, Morty?  No looking.  Don’t- no speaking unless spoken to.  Any special title you’d like, Morty?  Y-your <em>majesty</em>, maybe?  Your lordship?”</p>
<p>Morty threw his hands to his head and wailed.  It was <em>too much</em>.  How could he explain to Rick that by crashing the ship, he’d spoiled the rest of the adventure?  That after good hauls, Morty loved it when they rented a shit hotel room on some backwater planet and blew Rick’s newly earned money, and tried weird food, and fucked in the bed, the alley, the bathroom, the floor.  How could he explain that he was pissed because they’d missed <em>date night? </em> Stupid. Stupid!  He could never say that.  <em>Never. </em> </p>
<p>And how could he tell Rick that he liked family game night as much as he hated it?  That it was fun to do it because it was fun to hate it, together, with Rick?  And then Rick’s injury, and the weird looks, and he’d pushed Morty around on the ship <em>all </em>day, for no <em>reason</em>.  Morty had experience beyond his years but sometimes he was still, hopelessly, <em>helplessly, </em>a fourteen-year-old boy.</p>
<p>With a violent kick, Morty sent dirt flying into the fire and stormed off to the ship, slamming the door behind him and curling up into a little ball of rage on the bed.</p>
<p>It wasn’t long before he heard the door creak open and shut behind him, and felt Rick’s menace filling the little space up to the brim. </p>
<p>“What the <em>fuck, </em>Morty?”  His voice was low, threatening, but more than that, it was tired.</p>
<p>Morty curled up tighter.</p>
<p>“This crash isn’t shit compared to what we’ve been through before, Morty.  Seriously, what the <em>fuck?” </em></p>
<p>Morty couldn’t curl up tighter so he held his breath and stayed very, very still.</p>
<p>Rick’s knee landed hard on the bed, his left hand latching in a vice grip around Morty’s shoulder and slamming Morty down onto his back to face him.  Rick loomed over him, half of his face lit by the ship’s dim floor lights, the other half cloaked in shadow.  “I’m not playing around, <em>Morty.” </em></p>
<p>It was inadvertent.  Rick’s knee slid forward to balance his weight and bumped against Morty’s ass, and the switch in Morty’s brain flipped so quick that his breath came out first in a growl and ended in a shameless, unmistakable, moan.</p>
<p>Rick’s eyes got wide, and he puffed out a small, startled laugh.  He leaned down, cocking his head, his nose just brushing against Morty’s.  “Is that it, Morty?” Rick whispered, his wide eyes dancing.  “That’s all?  Are you just <em>horny</em>, baby?”  Morty jerked his head no, but Rick’s hand slipped up to put weight against his throat and he couldn’t keep the needy whine from escaping his lips.  He threw his hands up and grasped Rick’s wrist, but it wasn’t to get him away, and they both knew it.  Rick chuckled, rich and thick as honey.  “<em>Damn</em>.” his lips found the shell of Morty’s ear and brushed against it.  “Do you want me to fuck you, baby?  Did you- I-I bet you wanted it last night, huh?”</p>
<p>An aroused shiver shook Morty head to toe, and Rick gasped softly into Morty’s ear, pressing his hips down over Morty’s.  Already, Morty could feel the bulge of Rick’s dick filling up against his own, and the knowledge that Rick was turned on so fast, <em>just </em>from this…Morty rutted up into it, groaning weakly.  He could feel Rick’s grin against his face.</p>
<p>“Am I right, Morty?  Did I blue-ball you last night, baby boy?” He pressed harder into Morty’s throat, and with his free hand, trailed up under Morty’s shirt to flick his callused fingers over Morty’s nipples, setting sparks that shot down to Morty’s dick with every touch.  “I’m <em>so sorry, </em>Morty<em>.  </em>Let me- l-let Grandpa make it up to you.”  </p>
<p>And then, <em>oh, </em>Rick was kissing him, rough and mean and demanding.  Morty opened his mouth wide, letting Rick push in deep, desperately tangling his tongue with Rick’s, whining and drooling. The cigarette from last night wasn’t there anymore but the acrid liquor still was, always was, and that horrible taste, <em>Rick’s </em>taste, flooded Morty with heat all over.  When Rick pulled back, a trail of spit connected their mouths before breaking and landing on Morty’s chin in a disgusting splat. </p>
<p>Morty flinched, but Rick’s pupils blew out.  He spread the spit over Morty’s chin, brushed his fingers over Morty’s parted lips, and slipped in.  Morty let him.  Rick pressed his fingers down over Morty’s tongue, pushed <em>deep</em>, breached his throat.  Morty swallowed around it, easy, and Rick looked <em>pained</em>.  “<em>Fuck,</em> baby,” he whispered.  “Such a perfect <em>mouth</em>.”  <em>Yes.  </em>Morty slurped on Rick’s fingers and let out a gargling whine, needing the praise as much as he needed Rick’s touch. </p>
<p>Rick began to slowly thrust his fingers down Morty’s throat, kept his other hand wrapped around Morty’s neck.  He was muttering, “Fuckin’ <em>take it</em>, baby.  <em>Look-</em>just look at you.  Taught you how to suck it, <em>right, </em>didn’t I, Morty?”  He rutted absently against Morty in time with his fingers, and Morty went from needy to <em>desperate.  </em>He sucked harder, gripped Rick’s wrist tighter, jerked his hips up, pressing into Rick’s hardness.</p>
<p>Rick made a noise somewhere between a moan and a laugh, then with sudden viciousness he leaned in, pressed his fingers deep as they could go, and squeezed Morty’s neck <em>hard </em>at the same time.  Morty couldn’t breathe.  He swallowed around Rick’s fingers, gulped, then gagged.  He looked to Rick, eyes shining with tears and fright.  Rick’s eyes were narrow and he was biting his lip, watching Morty squirm, and Morty <em>knew </em>he’d have to take it as long as Rick wanted him to.  Adrenaline jolted through him, his lungs burned, and right as he began to truly panic, Rick released his grip and yanked out his fingers at the same time, watching Morty cough and gasp for air like it was the hottest thing he’d ever seen. </p>
<p>Morty tried to be properly angry, but Rick’s mouth was already running. “Yeahhh, baby, knew you could do it, fuck <em>me, </em>you- you are gonna be the <em>literal </em>death of me, Morty.”  Morty wanted to say that if anyone had been at risk just now, it had been <em>him</em>.  “Did so good, <em>Mortyyy,</em> so good for me,” Rick groaned, palming himself roughly, and Morty forgot what words were.</p>
<p>Rick stood up, and, still watching Morty, shucked off his lab coat, taking a last gratuitous gulp from his flask before dropping it on the floor.  Morty opened his mouth in a silent moan, and with trancelike slowness, he began to mirror Rick.  The two stripped, watching one another the entire time, raking their eyes hungrily over each other as their bodies were exposed, piece by piece.  When Morty slipped off his precum stained briefs, his dick smacked up against his belly and Rick’s brow knitted together; he sucked in an airy groan through his lips.</p>
<p>“Will you-just-just <em>look at you</em>, Morty,” Rick murmured reverently.  He dropped his own underwear and ran his hand lazily over his huge, swollen cock, swiping his thumb over his slit.  Morty whimpered in response and squeezed his legs together; it had been so far away, but he suddenly felt <em>so close</em>, the familiar tension of an orgasm building in his stomach, making him shake. Not <em>now! Not yet!  </em> Morty pressed his palm down over his dick.  He pressed until it hurt, until the threat of orgasm faded back.</p>
<p>“What’s the maAAUGHtter, baby?”  Rick slotted in between Morty’s legs and pried them open, pressing his face into the base of Morty’s dick and breathing in obscenely.  “S’ nothing I haven’t seen before.”  Morty threw his arm over his eyes and let out a strangled moan.  He felt Rick’s chuckle vibrate through his balls and squeezed his thighs around Rick’s head, trying not to lose it.  “Morty, you’re <em>dripping, </em>shit, are you- are you sure you didn’t cum already?”</p>
<p>Morty whined.  Shame and arousal swirled together in his belly.  Then Rick’s lips were sliding up the side of Morty’s shaft.  Hot air puffed over his leaking head.  Rick’s voice was heavy and rough.  “You watching, Morty?”</p>
<p>It wasn’t a question; it wasn’t a request.  Morty reluctantly slid his arm off his eyes and tilted his head down.  Rick’s face was predatory, completely alight with lust.  With a positively sinister grin, he let his tongue loll out of his mouth, and then he swallowed Morty in entirety.  Morty’s mouth opened in a perfect O, crying out soundlessly.  The corners of Rick’s eyes crinkled, and he started to bob, sucking hard as he pulled back, nosing Morty’s pelvis on the downstroke, maintaining eye contact the <em>entire damn time.  </em></p>
<p>Everything clenched, the orgasm threatened again, teetering painfully on the edge.  Desperately, Morty grabbed Rick’s hair and yanked him off with a violence that must’ve surprised him, but Rick’s shock mutated into a drawn out, satisfied groan.  “Ohhh ho ho, you <em>are </em>close, aren’t you, Morty?  <em>Look </em>at you.  What’s the matter?  You don’t wanna-y-you want me in you before you cum?  Huh?  You wanna get filled up, first, Morty?”</p>
<p>Morty clenched his hands tighter in Rick’s hair and gritted his teeth, trying to block out what Rick was saying.  He was holding back <em>hard </em>now, the tension pulsing inside him so intensely that it almost felt like he was already mid-climax.  His thighs tremored; a soft constant whine emanated from his throat.</p>
<p>“I have a better idea, <em>Morty</em>,” Rick purred.  “I’ll-Grandpa Rick’s gonna- gonna take care of you <em>twice</em> tonight.  Owe you for last night, anyway, right, baby?”</p>
<p>Morty’s eyes got huge.  “Nuh-n-n-n”</p>
<p>“Gonna get you off, <em>Morty,</em> gonna make you cum and watch you squirm when I get you hard again.  <em>Fuck. </em> We’ve done it before, Morty, I know you like it, come <em>on, baby,” </em>Rick sounded just as frantic as Morty felt, “Wanna cum in my mouth, Morty?  Watch me drink it down?” </p>
<p>Rick strained against Morty’s handhold in his hair, parting his lips and letting his tongue hang out.  He wrapped his fist around Morty’s cock and pumped it mercilessly.  It was <em>too much.</em>  Rick <em>meant </em>it to be too much.  Morty jerked, he curled in, he <em>exploded </em>with a raw strangled cry into Rick’s open mouth.  Rick stroked him through every aftershock, and Morty sobbed through it, wave after wave, until he was completely limp and boneless.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Rick craned over Morty and held his chin, made him watch as Rick lewdly opened his mouth, swirled Morty’s cum around with his tongue, and swallowed it down.  <em>Gross.</em>  A weak whine left Morty’s lips, and already, his dick twitched again.  Rick kissed him, gently pushed into Morty’s mouth.  It was salty.  Morty pliantly returned the kiss, then dropped his head back heavily, absolutely spent.  Rick’s laugh was warm and bemused…and more than a little bit cocky.  Morty’s eyebrow wrinkled, some of his irritation from earlier creeped back in.</p>
<p>“Ass,” he mumbled.</p>
<p>“Good- great suggestion, Morty.”</p>
<p>Morty heard the lid of a bottle snap open, and then Rick’s slicked up fingers were sliding up against his hole, only teasing.  Morty’s hips rolled against his will, his dick leaked and twitched, valiantly trying to fill back up.  “Rick,” he whispered, suddenly a little frightened. He couldn’t tell if it was a plea to wait or a plea for more.</p>
<p>“Being pretty desperate, aren’t we, Morty?” Rick purred.  He dipped in the tip of his finger, then retreated, and Morty choked.  “And after I <em>just </em>took care of you.  Tsk tsk,” Rick tutted. </p>
<p>“<em>Rick.” </em> Morty’s voice wavered.  Every sensation was heightened.  Rick’s fingers danced at the edge of his hole, and despite being raw all over, Morty still <em>needed.  </em>He <em>needed. </em></p>
<p>Rick leaned in close, suddenly radiating aggression.  “What do you <em>want, </em>Morty?” he growled. Morty whined and pressed his ass against Rick’s fingers, but Rick shook his head.  “Not good enough, Morty, you want it?  You’d better-you’re gonna <em>ask for it.</em>” Rick’s finger pressed in and retreated once more and Morty couldn’t <em>stand it.</em></p>
<p>“Rick!  I-I-I-I want it, <em>okay? </em>I want- I-I-I-why do you always make me-”</p>
<p>“You want my fingers inside you, baby?  Y-you want- want Grandpa to open you up, Morty?  Get you ready for my big cock?”</p>
<p>“S-stop- just- just <em>do it, </em>Rick!” Morty spread his legs and <em>willed </em>Rick’s fingers inside.</p>
<p>Rick laughed, a cruel, unfair laugh- “<em>That’s </em>my boy-“ and <em>at last </em>pressed in his fingers- three of them- all at once.  Morty thrashed and wailed, clenching around the stretch of the intrusion.  But even as it burned, Rick brushed against his prostate and he was ravaged by the thrill of it, with the promise of <em>more</em>.  His dick chubbed up and the pleasure-pain sent tremors shooting up his spine.  Rick watched his fingers sink into Morty’s hole and then breathed out a shuddering moan as Morty began to clench and unclench his ass around it, fucking himself on Rick’s fingers, already desperate for it all over again.</p>
<p>Rick pulled his fingers out then sharply thrust back in, soaking up Morty’s expression.  “Taking it so well, Morty.  <em>Fuck</em>, look at you, three fingers at once.  I bet you’d- I bet I could give you the D with no prep and you’d just <em>love it.” </em> A thrill of fear flooded Morty’s veins, but his cock pulsed with interest, the<em> traitor</em>, and a lecherous grin split across Rick’s face.  “Ha!  I saw that, Morty.  That - that sound good to you? Huh?”  He brought up his left hand and pumped his fist shallowly <em>just</em> over the head of Morty’s dick.</p>
<p>Morty moaned openly.  With the attention from the front and back, his cock filled up completely, aching and hypersensitive, and Rick’s mouth just kept running.  “Can’t wait to get inside you, baby boy.  Can’t <em>wait. Fuck.” </em>He rumbled.  “Gonna dick you down niiiiice and hard, Morty.”  Rick paused and then added, with a sly smirk, “Maybe-maybe then you’ll stop being such a little <em>bitch</em>, right, <em>Morty?” </em></p>
<p>Too far.  Too <em>mean.  </em>Morty’s chest seized up and he kicked with indignation, his feet glancing harmlessly off Rick’s sides.  “I am <em>not being-“</em></p>
<p>“Ohhh, yes you fucking <em>are, </em>Morty,” Rick replied, crooking his fingers and pressing into Morty’s prostate, <em>hard. </em></p>
<p>Morty couldn’t let that stand.  He <em>couldn’t.  </em>“Y-you started it,” Morty managed to whimper, even as he writhed and bucked against the contact, conflicted about stopping the pressure and wanting <em>more. </em>Rick wasn’t playing fair.</p>
<p>Rick scoffed.  “How did <em>I </em>start it, Morty?”</p>
<p>“Y-y-y-you looked-“</p>
<p>“<em>Looked at you?  </em>Fuckin’- what is your <em>problem</em>?”  Rick stroked Morty’s cock twice and then squeezed cruelly at the base.</p>
<p>“NO!” Morty cried out, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes.  “Not like-“ Morty gasped for air, half sobbing- “a-after I killed the aliens! A-a-and y-your-“ Rick pumped his fist again and Morty shook all over and moaned.  “A-and when I patched you up! A-and the ship! All <em>day,</em> Rick!  Y-y-you’ve been <em>weird!</em>”</p>
<p>Rick stilled.  Morty sank back, exhausted, panting raggedly.  Rick’s face was at first blank, but then something clicked and he began to laugh, shoulders heaving, shaking his head.  “Jesus Christ,” he wheezed, responding to Morty’s confused and hurt expression with nothing but affection.   “You’re-for-for being so perceptive, you’re still such a <em>dumbass </em>sometimes.”</p>
<p>Morty opened and closed his mouth.  What the hell did <em>that </em>mean?  But then Rick was pressing his entire weight down on Morty, wrapping his left arm around Morty’s head and tangling his fingers in his hair, heavy and possessive.  He lined up their dicks, pulsing his fingers in Morty’s ass, and then he was running his mouth <em>straight </em>into Morty’s ear, hot and angry.</p>
<p>“You have no-y-you don’t know what you <em>looked like </em>today Morty, <em>fuck, </em>you never do, totally clueless.  Pisses me <em>off</em>.”  Rick thrust his hips and fingers aggressively and Morty <em>keened</em>.  “Standing over me like some goddamn- Indiana Jones-<em>fuckin’</em>-Rambo motherfucker. Coulda- <em>shit-“ </em>Rick’s voice cracked and he buried his face in the crook of Morty’s neck; he slowed his hips, but his thighs shook. He sounded absolutely <em>wrecked </em>and Morty <em>burned</em>.  He wrapped his arms around Rick’s back and squeezed.  “Should’ve fucked you right there on the hill, baby boy,” Rick murmured, his voice laced with real regret.</p>
<p>Morty let out a quaking whine.  He tightened his arms and legs around Rick and trembled.  “Y-y-y-you were bleeding out,” he whispered.</p>
<p>“Woulda fucked you in my own blood and guts, <em>Morty</em>!” Rick snarled, biting into Morty’s shoulder and sucking a vicious hickey into his throat.  Morty threw his head back with a cry and invited it.  Rick’s voice rattled low against Morty’s neck.  “Woulda fucked you right <em>there, </em>don’t give a shit, <em>god </em>and the way you offed that last one-“</p>
<p>The alien’s face came to Morty, unwanted, unbidden, and he went rigid, went from wrapping his arms around Rick to pushing at his chest, his stomach twisted into knots. “I-I-I’m <em>not proud of that</em>, Rick!”</p>
<p>Rick pulled back and locked eyes with Morty, and the image of the alien evaporated, replaced entirely by <em>Rick</em>.  His face was flushed, his naturally messy hair was an absolute disaster.  <em>That </em>expression suddenly gleamed behind his piercing blue eyes, more intense than ever, combined with something feral, something wild, and Rick hissed, “Well I <em>AM.</em>”</p>
<p>The air slammed out of Morty’s lungs in a whoosh.  His head spun. <em>What? </em></p>
<p>
  <em>…WHAT?!?!</em>
</p>
<p>Before he could react, Rick had flipped him over, pulling him up onto his knees and spreading his cheeks roughly.  Rick’s cock nudged against his hole, and then without preamble he was pressing down, pressing <em>in.  </em>Morty couldn’t do anything but wail, open mouthed and completely debauched, as Rick’s dick slid against his prostate the <em>entire </em>way in. </p>
<p>When Rick finally seated himself entirely in Morty, they both moaned in tandem.  Morty was painfully over-full; Rick’s dick twitched inside him and Morty felt it in his stomach.  Rick’s long fingers kneaded Morty’s ass.  Morty felt his thumbs press down forcefully and spread his cheeks, and he knew Rick was <em>looking</em>, just drinking in the sight of himself sheathed entirely inside Morty’s hole.  Rick groaned faintly and Morty echoed it.</p>
<p>Morty’s head was still reeling, but through the storm, one clear thought crystallized.  He wanted to see Rick’s face.  Morty let his head loll to the side and looked over his shoulder.  He wanted to see… </p>
<p>Rick met his gaze, and Morty’s heart caught in his throat.  <em>There it was. </em>Rick was an open book, a conflicting myriad of emotion: adoration and pain, sentiment and barely checked aggression.  Rick made a low, agonized sound.  “<em>Morty,” </em>he said, just above a whisper.  <em>God. </em>It almost sounded like a <em>plea. </em></p>
<p>Morty’s lip quivered.  What could he do?  He needed him, needed him to move.  He needed<em>, </em>he needed, he <em>needed, </em>and Rick’s words echoed in the fog of his mind: <em>Well I am, well I am, well I AM. </em></p>
<p>Morty lifted his ass, bore down against Rick’s pelvis, and he <em>moaned, </em>completely honest and delirious with need, “<em>Grandpa.” </em></p>
<p>Rick looked absolutely <em>gutted; </em>he gasped like he’d been shot<em>. </em>“Jesus, <em>fuck, Morty</em>.  You know I love that.  <em>Shit. </em>Say it again, Morty?  C’mon, baby, one more time?”  Rick thrust sharply and Morty <em>sobbed</em>.  “<em>Talk to me,</em> Morty.”</p>
<p>“Grandpa Rick! Grandpa! <em>Rick!” </em></p>
<p><em>“Yeah </em>baby, I’ve got you, Morty, I’ve got you, <em>damn.</em>” Rick wrapped his arms around Morty’s torso, slid slowly out while Morty wailed over the loss, and then he slammed back in, <em>finally, finally </em>thrusting in earnest.</p>
<p>Morty <em>loved </em>it.  All of it.  The pain of Rick churning up his insides, the pleasure that ricocheted through him every time Rick drove his cock home.  Rick’s hot breath was on his neck, Rick’s body was so heavy, surrounding him, protecting him.  Morty’s dick leaked, he arched his back until it screamed in protest, his thighs were shaking, he could feel it again, rising up.</p>
<p>“Morty,” Rick was rambling into his neck, at first incoherent nonsense, and then his voice picked up.  “Did you even <em>realize, Morty, </em>you popped it, <em>fuck, </em>you got a headshot, firing a <em>rifle </em>from your <em>hip?  </em>Of course you didn’t, you <em>dumb. Little. Shit.” </em>Rick punctuated his words with particularly vicious thrusts and Morty cried.  It <em>hurt, </em>but he braced against it, craved even more.  “Dammit, the-playing the hero and you didn’t even <em>know, </em>fuck <em>me, </em>I’m- I’m gonna jerk off to that image of you ‘till the day I <em>die, Morty.” </em></p>
<p>Morty jolted and made a startled sound that came out as a sort of shriek with a question mark at the end.  Rick let out a low, guttural, rumble of pleasure and <em>agonizingly </em>slowed his thrusts.  “What, does that <em>surprise</em> you, Morty?  You- you think I fuck you and then whack it to tits and redheads, Morty? Huh?” Morty was shaking. He couldn’t hear this.  “Fuck that shit, baby, I’m <em>always thinking of you.” </em></p>
<p>Morty’s face crumpled.  He couldn’t find the words to tell Rick he always did the same, so he just slammed himself back into Rick as best he could with a choked off sob.  He needed to cum, needed Rick to cum inside. Rick moaned and picked up the pace again.  <em>Yes, yes, yes. </em></p>
<p>And then Rick was muttering to himself, almost manic. It seemed not to be for Morty, but he could hear it just the same.  “When did-did my piece of shit, useless, <em>fucking, </em>little tag-along get- get half competent?”  Rick ran the palms of his hands roughly over Morty’s chest, and groaned softly into Morty’s shoulder, barely audible, “<em>M’ baby boy’s growing up</em>.”</p>
<p>Morty’s eyes got huge and his mouth hung open in a silent scream.  It was <em>grotesque, </em>or it should have been, something so paternal coming out of Rick’s mouth during…while they were…Morty’s voice finally escaped his throat, a strangled, cracking sound, “Ohhhhh, oh, <em>Rick! Rick!”</em></p>
<p>Rick’s hips stuttered, but then he drove down harder, aiming for Morty’s prostate perfectly, and then, and <em>then, </em>oh, his hands were around Morty’s dick, stroking him in time.  “Gotta cum, baby? Yeah, <em>do it</em>, Morty, pretty baby boy, come on, come on, come <em>on.”  </em>The tension rose in one final tsunami; Morty’s ass clenched, his stomach hurt, his toes cramped up.  And then the crash, and Morty was <em>cumming, </em>hard in Rick’s hands with a wail of pain and relief.  And Rick, oh, Rick was right after, driving in only a few times more before pressing down deep into Morty and shuddering through his own release, squeezing his arms so tight that Morty could hardly breathe.</p>
<p>Rick held it for a moment, pulsing and jerking his hips through the enduring waves of pleasure, and Morty moaned softly in response, whimpering through the aftershocks, his thighs beginning to quake uncontrollably.  He started to slip, unable to hold himself up.  Rick shifted his arms, supporting Morty’s weight for him, and then he gently eased the two of them onto their sides, remaining sheathed deep inside of Morty. </p>
<p>Rick let out a long, satisfied sigh, wrapped his arms snugly around Morty, and nuzzled into the back of his head.  Something about it, something about Rick post-orgasm, was always softer.  A little fire burned, warm and insistent, in Morty’s chest.  He brushed his fingers over Rick’s, and when Rick lifted his hand slightly to accommodate and allow Morty to tangle their fingers together, Morty felt that he could cry.</p>
<p>He held Rick’s old, weathered hand in his tiny soft ones, and sensed Rick starting to drift off to sleep.  Rick’s softened dick slipped out of Morty with a squelch, and warm cum dripped down his ass and legs, but Morty couldn’t find it in himself to care even remotely. </p>
<p>The events of the day replayed quietly in his mind.  The aliens and how he’d fought.  Tending to Rick’s wound.  Rick making him learn about the ship instead of being the tool-deliverer…Morty drifted…</p>
<p>
  <em>Well I AM.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Baby boy’s growing up.</em>
</p>
<p>Wrapped up tight and tucked into Rick’s chest, Morty’s eyelids drooped, and he was swept softly into a deep, dreamless, sleep.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Morty woke up in a tangle of sheets.  His back ached and his thighs felt...sticky?  Drearily, Morty reached down and felt…oh, oh right.  He groaned and sat up.</p>
<p>“Well look who decided to JOAAin the world of the living, Morty!”  Rick leaned against the open door of the ship and grinned.</p>
<p>“Shut up,” Morty mumbled, but the words had no bite.</p>
<p>“You’re- you’re just in time, Morty.  Just finished patching up the windshield,” Rick said, leaving his post at the door to begin gathering up the tools and supplies scattered around the ship.</p>
<p>Morty managed to shuffle onto his feet, and slid his hand over his leg again.  Ugh.  He took a look around, scooped up one of the bottles he’d filled with water yesterday and a rag, and padded outside to rinse off.</p>
<p>It was incredible how something simple as a shower with a bottle and rag could be so absolutely <em>delectable.  </em>Morty helped himself to a drink of water as he washed, and sighed contentedly.  The splendid warmth from the morning suns dried Morty’s skin even better than the rag did, and Morty basked in it, stretching his arms up over his head and smiling.</p>
<p>When he finished up and turned back toward the ship to fetch his clothes, he was brought to a halt by Rick’s penetrating gaze.  How long had he been…?  Caught staring, Rick didn’t avert his gaze in the slightest.  His eyes gleamed and the corner of his lip twitched up, cocky and unabashedly interested.  Suddenly self-conscious, Morty flushed and lowered his hand to hide his junk as he shuffled inside to get dressed, ignoring the gentle chuckle he could hear behind him.</p>
<p>Not long after, everything was in order, or at least as ordered as it always was.  The ship was ready, the tools returned to their places scattered about the floor, and Rick settled himself into the driver’s seat, Morty clambering into the passenger’s, as usual.</p>
<p>“Ho-kayyyy, Morty!” Rick cracked his knuckles and started the engine.  “What- whaddya say we get some breakfast?”</p>
<p>Morty’s stomach grumbled on cue.  “That-that sounds great, Rick.”</p>
<p>“Got-anything come to mind, Morty?” Rick asked.  “A-anywhere calling your name?”</p>
<p>Morty stammered for a moment, but, “Uh, what-what was that one place, o-on that green planet?  The underground one?”</p>
<p>Rick took a second, “Oh, Brex 1138’s?  The one with- with the greasy-ass bacon, Morty?”</p>
<p>“<em>Yes!” </em>Morty beamed.</p>
<p>“Hell, yeah!” Rick grinned. “You got it, baby.  Two heAAUrt attacks, coming up.” Rick flipped a few switches and eased them into the air.  “And awaaaay we go!”</p>
<p>The little ship rose and glinted in the double sunlight.  From a distance, it was quite beautiful, a twinkling metal star rising up and disappearing above the clouds.  Inside, Rick had turned on the radio, and he and Morty bobbed their heads to the music.</p>
<p>Every once in a while, one of them would quietly hum along. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks so much for reading!  </p>
<p>I had wayyy too much fun writing these two as the snarky bickering pair they are.  My first fic put them in a pretty good mood, so with this one I wanted to rattle them around a bit and see what happened.  </p>
<p>I hope you enjoyed it!  Turns out I had more than one fic in me, after all.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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